The top 15 TV shows on Now TV Ireland
- The Rookie
- Chernobyl
- The Good Doctor
- Moone Boy
- Ray Donovan
- Game of Thrones
- Parks and Recreation
- Westworld
- The Handmaid’s Tale
- Veep
- Billions
- The Wire
- Band of Brothers
- Boardwalk Empire
- Deadwood
The best TV shows on Now TV Ireland to stream in 2020
From breezy procedurals to top-notch fantasy, all these addictive series are available to binge on Now TV.
If you’re hankering for an epic-length binge session, Now TV has got you more than covered. Digging through its expansive library reveals an absolute treasure trove of the best series ever broadcasted. Collected here is a rock-solid list of must-watch content. So, make some popcorn, turn off your phone and prepare to obliterate an entire weekend.
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1. The Rookie (2018)
Cast:
- Nathan Fillion as John Nolan
- Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen
- Eric Winter as Tim Bradford
- Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez
Starring the always charming Nathan Fillion, The Rookie centres on John Nolan, who decides to pursue his dream of becoming an LAPD officer despite not being a young guy anymore. As the force’s oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from higher-ups and colleagues, yet his determination and humour keep him afloat. If you’re on the lookout for a light procedural to help you unwind at the end of the day, The Rookie delivers.
2. Chernobyl (2019)
Cast:
- Jared Harris as Valery Legasov
- Jessie Buckley as Lyudmilla Ignatenko
- Stellan Skarsgård as Boris Shcherbina
- Adam Nagaitis as Vasily Ignatenko
Centreing around one of the worst nuclear disasters in the history of mankind, Chernobyl highlights the cleanup efforts that followed, offering a sobering look at what went down during those troubling times. Highly acclaimed, well acted and incredibly compelling, this series will stay with you long after the end credits roll. To call it excellent would be an understatement.
3. The Good Doctor (2017)
Cast:
- Freddie Highmore as Dr Shaun Murphy
- Antonia Thomas as Dr Claire Browne
- Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr Neil Melendez
- Richard Schiff as Dr Aaron Glassman
A drama with a lot of heart, The Good Doctor tells the story of Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and Savant syndrome who joins a prestigious hospital. Despite having trouble fitting in and connecting with patients, Shaun soon finds that he’s able to excel as long as his colleagues provide much needed support. Freddie Highmore shines in the lead role. Also, the medical cases are intriguing enough to keep viewers glued to the screen.
4. Moone Boy (2012)
Cast:
- Chris O’Dowd as Sean Murphy
- David Rawle as Martin Moone
- Deirdre O’Kane as Debra Moone
- Aoife Duffin as Trisha Moone
Watch Chris O’Dowd bring his childhood to life in this charming original comedy. Moone Boy centres on a young boy, Martin Moone, and the adventures he has with his friend, Sean Murphy. The twist? Sean isn’t a normal school-age mate – he only exists in Martin’s imagination. Set in the late 80s, the show is a fun and sweet watch that can be enjoyed by parents and tweens alike.
5. Ray Donovan (2013)
Cast:
- Liev Schreiber as Ray Donovan
- Jon Voight as Mickey Donovan
- Eddie Marsan as Terry Donovan
- Kerris Dorsey as Bridget Donovan
Meet Ray Donovan, who works as a mediator for a law firm that handles celebrities and wealthy clients. Too bad he’s not particularly good at dealing with his own problems, especially those that revolve around his family. Gritty and provocative, the series has tons of action, but manages to balance things out with occasional moments of comedy and reflection. Overall, it makes for an immersive binge.
6. Game of Thrones (2011)
Cast:
- Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
- Kit Harington as Jon Snow
- Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
- Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister
Jon Arryn, Hand of the King to Robert Baratheon, has died (for reasons that are becoming more and more suspicious). Needing a replacement, the King taps the shoulder of Ned Stark, an honourable-to-a-fault provincial lord who begrudgingly relocates his family to the capital of King’s Landing. What he finds is a viper’s nest of deceit and betrayal, plus there are some tough decisions to make regarding a young, would-be usurper queen who’s growing in strength, half a world away. And that’s all the good news taken care of. Unbeknown to any of these backstabbing lords or ladies is an even greater threat to the icy north. Winter is coming and with it the apocalypse.
7. Parks and Recreation (2009)
Cast:
- Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope
- Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson
- Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate
- Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer
If you’re looking for an upbeat binge, you can’t go wrong with Parks and Recreation. The series follows the absurd antics of a group of public officials in a small US town. They’re led by Leslie Knope, whose determination and optimism are highly contagious. Thanks to a tremendous ensemble cast and some brilliant writing, Parks and Rec stands the test of time and gets better with every re-watch. Just don’t be too harsh on Season 1. It took the series a little time to find its footing.
8. Westworld (2016)
Cast:
- Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy
- Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay
- Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe
- James Marsden as Theodore “Teddy” Flood
Think a real-life recreation of the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, a cowboy fantasy theme park for the insanely rich and powerful. In this geographically immense Wild West sandbox, every attendee’s desire is catered for, no matter how dark the impulse (after all, any “killed” android actors can always be repaired and refitted for another user’s holiday). But the string-pullers soon begin to notice that a growing number of marionettes are exhibiting AI glitches. Routines that are eerily similar to human consciousness are on the rise as the resort’s enigmatic creator nears his (forced) retirement. Factor in that Westworld was written by Jurassic Park creator Michael Crichton and yeah, you can probably see where this is all heading.
9. The Handmaid’s Tale (2017)
Cast:
- Elisabeth Moss as Offred
- Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford
- Joseph Fiennes as Commander Fred Waterford
- Max Minghella as Nick Blaine
Though it sometimes feels like we’re living in our own alternate timeline nowadays, trust us when we say it can always be worse. The near-future dystopian world of The Handmaid’s Tale is impossibly bleak. American democracy has given way to an outright totalitarian military theocracy called the Republic of Gilead. Imagine bible-bashing taken to the fundamentalist extreme: human rights are stripped away and the few women who still possess the ability to reproduce become live-in slaves for any regional governor who rules with a righteous iron fist. Among these is Offred, a handmaid determined to resist her indoctrination and escape this horrific new world of colourised outfits and casual capital punishment.
10. Veep (2012)
Cast:
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer
- Anna Chlumsky as Amy Brookheimer
- Tony Hale as Gary Walsh
- Matt Walsh as Mike McLintock
Veep (short for VP/vice president) is a hilarious look into American politics that centres on former senator Selina Meyer (played by Emmy-Award-winning Seinfeld alumni Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Originally enthusiastic about the position of power, Selina soon finds out that the reality is nothing like what she expected and everything everyone ever warned her about. Flanked by a misfit team of aides and desperate to make any kind of legacy for herself, Selina’s efforts are constantly thwarted by day-to-day bureaucracy and politics that define the broader administration.
11. Billions (2016)
Cast:
- Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades
- Damian Lewis as Bobby “Axe” Axelrod
- Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades
- Toby Leonard Moore as Bryan Connerty
There’s no disputing it: hedge fund titan Bobby “Axe” Axelrod is a brilliant man who has self-made his way up from extremely humble beginnings. That said, there’s simply no way that his immense, 10-figure fortune has been amassed by pure luck and animal instincts alone. Suspecting insider trading and slowly discovering a web of bribery and deceit, brash US district attorney Chuck Rhoades sniffs out the trail of Axelrod, a long-time employer of his psychiatrist wife. Thus begins a Wall-Street-based, winner-takes-all game of cat and mouse.
12. The Wire (2002)
Cast:
- Dominic West as Jimmy McNulty
- Lance Reddick as Cedric Daniels
- Sonja Sohn as Kima Greggs
- Wood Harris as Avon Barksdale
Avon Barksdale, undisputed drug lord of West Baltimore, runs a tight game and is a faceless enigma as far as the local police department is concerned. All that changes when a state’s witness is executed, drawing the attention of a local judge and an ambitious young detective who grifts his way into forming a special task force. Understaffed with the refuse from other departments, but in possession of on-loan surveillance tech from the FBI, this motley crew of homicide and narcotics detectives set about dismantling an empire. On the other side of the fence, Barksdale ramps up what is already a sophisticated operation and the counter-intelligence chess game begins in earnest.
13. Band of Brothers (2001)
Cast:
- Damian Lewis as Richard D. Winters
- Ron Livingston as Lewis Nixon
- Donnie Wahlberg as C. Carwood Lipton
- Matthew Settle as Ronald Speirs
When the United States entered World War II, the best of the enlisted gravitated towards paratrooper training. The elite of that elite formed the Easy Company. Band of Brothers chronicles their real-life accounts by drawing from military reports, personal letters and first-hand interviews from the survivors. This critically acclaimed miniseries follows the incredible heroism and sacrifices made by these soldiers all the way from D-Day aerial insertion through to Market Garden and the Bulge, right up to capturing Hitler’s private retreat on V-Day. Every bit as shocking and moving as Spielberg’s cinematic masterpiece Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers is unmissable television.
14. Boardwalk Empire (2010)
Cast:
- Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson
- Michael Shannon as Nelson Van Alden
- Stephen Graham as Al Capone
- Shea Whigham as Elias “Eli” Thompson
Meet Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, Atlantic City string-puller and bootlegger who became an all-powerful force when the US government passed prohibition in the 1920s. Based on actual historical events and people, Boardwalk Empire is a sordid, behind-the-scenes look into the birth of organised crime in America. As Nucky’s power and influence grow, his good fortune attracts rivals and changeable gangster allies (one notable example being a young Al Capone). That said, a lavish lifestyle and brutal mob justice also attract a new breed of lawman: obsessed Federal investigators who’ll go to extreme lengths to take him down.
15. Deadwood (2004)
Cast:
- Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bullock
- Ian McShane as Al Swearengen
- Molly Parker as Alma Garret
- Jim Beaver as Whitney Ellsworth
Welcome to Deadwood, South Dakota, a gold rush community with bold aspirations of becoming “a somewhere town” despite being nowhere near cosmopolitan. Drawn from real-life history books, the citizenry are cutthroat grifters and entertainment entrepreneurs looking to make a dollar off any tenderfooted peckerwood lured in from the frontier by thirst, lust or good old-fashioned gold fever. Come for the era-authentic attention to detail and coarse language, stay for a decent re-enactment of Wild Bill Hickock’s worst poker hand, plus the slow boil showdown between reluctant lawman Seth Bullock and scheming saloon owner Al Swearengen.
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